Fender Electric Guitar Blue For Sale (2024 Update)

Although the antique olive was not necessarily my first color choice, it looks amazing in person. The finish is much thinner than the finish on my MIM Standard telecaster or strat – I can very faintly see the join lines and grain through the finish, and the instrument itself is very resonant unplugged. Out of the box, the action was basically perfect – I set intonation and tuning and have not had to adjust saddles or tweak the truss rod at all. The neck profile is very comfortable for me – far more than either the 2002 "American Fat Strat Texas Special" or 2012 American Standard I had previously – hand-filling and substantial without sacrificing easy chording and bending. In terms of tones – it really nails all of the bell-like tones strats have become famous for. I am definitely more a fan of the three pickups individually than the 'in-between' settings, but it also has the 'quack' you want if you are an aficionado of those tones as well. The vibrato is light and easy – I don't do a lot of dive-bombing, but it's perfect for adding a bit of shimmer here and there. I know I'm still in the 'honeymoon' period, but I believe it's going to be a long and happy marriage!Robert

I'm a Gibson player usually – I have a Les Paul Standard Faded from 2005, which has been rewired with a '59 harness, Alnico 2 PU mags and PIO caps (it's an absolute tone monster), and is the yardstick by which I judge all other guitars. 99.9% of the time, nothing comes close. I've never really found a Stratocaster that I felt completely at ease with, or that sounded right to my Gibbo ears. But the American Pro is different. I don't know what they've done with the pickups, but there's loads of soul in them, with tons of dynamics on offer. I never thought I'd say this, but the Strat is fast becoming my favourite guitar. This guitar just sings in all PU positions. It's got a cool '60s vibe to it, but with with higher output – not too high that it loses it's classic tones, but high enough to cut through lots of high gain (if that's your thing). The neck is the new tapered C shape, which is very similar in feel to my '60s LP neck (my hands are too small for the '50s necks), so I felt right at home with it. This guitar will be a lifer for me. I need look no further.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I've owned a couple of Stratocaster's over the years and they've never really just felt like me. They're nice enough, just not my thing. I decided to give Fender another shot as I've heard good things about the new ranges and the specs on the American Professional sounded like they were right up my alley. But I was trying to justify that vs the new Mexico made Player series which, on paper, was close enough for several hundred dollars less. Then I stumbled on this deal and my decision was made. Once I got it in hand, the differences were very apparent, the neck feel being the biggest. I love the satin finished back with the gloss finger board. And the new carve is wonderful, not too thick, fits the hand very well…comfort city! The new Tim Shaw designed V Mod pickups sound great, every position is useable from my perspective and Lake Placid blue is spectacular. I never knew I wanted a guitar in Lake Placid blue! It's quickly becoming my favorite behind my Gibson ES-339.Patrick

1 month review with guitar being setup professionally: Great pickups and tone and overall good sounding guitar after a proper setup, gorgeous nitro finish and paintjob. Relic effects are beautiful. The nitro finish feels thin enough for you to eventually make your own marks from repeated playing – a perfect way to tell a story and give the guitar character. Worn in neck feels amazing to play and not sticky to touch. Worth noting that the Pure Vintage 59 pickups on these don't have a reverse-wound middle pick, so there will be hum including positions 2 and 4. If you are easily annoyed with single coil hum, these pickups might not be for you. Also worth noting that these pickups do sound a bit warmer than a stock Fender Player pickups. These respond so MUCH better to high gain type of playing, all while still sounding amazing on low-gain and clean playing. Despite the pros, there are still some areas are lacking and needs improvement. The guitar had razor sharp frets along the binding that could easily cut you, meanwhile I have a $700 MIM fender player didn't have this problem straight out of the box. It's crazy to think that $700 guitar went through better QA than a $1200 guitar, but whatever, the frets are bound to be polished and worked on anyway with your initial setup regardless. CME's shipping page policies say "Every guitar gets a full inspection, as well as basic setup." Guitar came with an inspection card that had overall playability specs checked but some of it was questionable. The guitar was not playable at all out of the box despite letting it acclimate for over a day before opening BUT that is a given considering it spent time in a delivery truck trunk in freezing winter. However, it was a bit bogus how they even checked off volume output when the pickups were NOWEHERE near the appropriate height out of the box and there was BARELY any audible output on the treble side of the guitar. I highly doubt weather and temperature fluctuation will make the pickup screws spin by themselves to the degree at which the pickups came out of the box. Secondly, the tremolo springs at the back also weren't ******* in the appropriate depth for a either a floating or flushed trem setup – it was just sort of in the middle of the cavity. Weather fluctuation from their shop and may have affected string tension, but I also don't think it would make the claw springs in the back unscrew themselves to the degree the guitar came. Makes me wonder how thorough the inspection was. These might not matter as much to some especially those who will get their new guitars setup anyway, but it's good to note that you may still need to budget for a setup if you aren't doing it yourself. Although there could've been improvements on Fender and CME's part that I don't think could be blamed on external factors such as weather and climate fluctuations, overall, I would still 100% recommend this guitar, and it's a gem. The guitar played well after a proper setup, so I'm happy with it now. The price may be too expensive for some considering it's not made in USA, but it must be considered that this is the cheapest proper nitro-finish guitar you will currently find. The next best thing are Fender custom shop, so this guitar is perfect for those looking to enjoy vintage style paint/nitro body finish, and vintage specs without paying custom shop prices. The appearances are just a plus, since they sound and play amazing after a proper set up.Carlos T.

I've been playing for a little while, I rehearse with my band once/twice a week so my guitars definitely get played quite a bit, I've preferred Stratocasters from an early age. The shape is legendary and the tone is versatile. I own Chinese, Japanese, U.S. and Mexican Strats. This one is very comparable to my American Professional Stratocaster, the neck profile, the weight and intonation. Electronics are great, single coils produce a sweet twangy clean tone and the humbucker roars really nice with the right amount of gain/distortion. Makes it a very comfortable instrument that plays as easy as mantequilla on a hot tortilla. Only issue, (hence the 'almost comparable to MIA strats comment in the headline) are the frets… They are a little bit on the sharp side, I'm guessing it comes down to a player's preference? A competent luthier can dress the fret ends and make this one a real player/main axe. Other than the sharp frets, everything else is pretty solid and straight, the vatos down in Ensenada MX do great work producing these!Benjamin

So my story goes like this, I flew into Portland Oregon for work and immediately drove from the airport to Guitar Center. Upon walking in, someone was shredding on a guitar and it went on for a good 10 minutes. The guitar he was playing was the Candy Red Burst Fender Stratocaster Player Series. After he was done, I grabbed it and saw why he played it so long. It felt just solid in the hands. The strings, fret board and neck were silky smooth; Super easy to glide up and down with no fret buzz. The pickups are all Fender Player Stratocaster series which I have had no issue with and perform great out of the box. Also, just holding the guitar is a treat in the hands. It's a beautiful guitar. The Candy Red Burst has a very high functioning coat that gives a deep black fade anyway you turn it. It also fit my bill for something to remember Oregon by since the guitar is a deep Rose Red and Portland is know as the City of Roses.The Pau Ferro fingerboard is also eye candy as it has black veins that run through the grain matching the black hardware of the guitar. Other then that, I have had this guitar for 5 months as of this review and absolutely love it. The guitar holds its tune very well I enjoy playing it every time. Wait, you still reading this? Go get one already!Allan

A lot of the reviews posted here are for Strats, so I'm not sure what's going on. Anyway, I bought the red sparkle Squier Bullet Tele. The finish is gorgeous and that's what prompted me to do a spontaneous purchase. I have only experienced owning USA Teles, but I've played some Squiers that really impressed me. This one? Not so much. I don't detect any finish on the back of the neck although I'm sure it has a sealer of some sort. The body finish is nice, but the bridge hardware is cheaply made and I'll be replacing that for sure. Same goes for the tuners. I'm pretty sure it has some high frets because it goes dead starting at the 10th fret, but some of that was back bow. I loosened the truss and got rid if it, but now when I sight down the neck the forward bow is pretty obvious. I don't notice the frets being sharp on the ends. It now plays plays pretty good after sitting long enough for the truss Rod to settle, but I may need to tighten it just a little to get rid of some of the forward bow. The neck has a very comfortable profile. The body is thinner than my American Teles, but it doesn't bother me – in fact it's lighter which I enjoy. The body is Poplar and that's fine by me. I may leave the back of the neck alone for now because it actually feels pretty good, aesthetics are certainly lacking, but the body makes up for that. I'm sure with a little patience and help from my friends I'll have a nice instrument. All the basics are there. As is, it's not all that great, but still better than my first electric guitar! -!an old Kalamazoo single pickup thing with a bolt on neck back in the mid sixties. Like the title says, this thing has potential. I probably couldn't buy a finished body for what I paid.Ronnie

I bought my black metallic Squier Bullet eight years ago when GC was having a Columbus Day sale. I was looking for a guitar to which I could permanently mount my Roland GR-33 guitar synth's GK2a pickup. Previously I had the pickup mounted on my '96 Strat, and I didn't like this fit because I couldn't close my Strat's case with the pickup installed. I have a gig bag for this Squier, and it fits fine in the bag with pickup installed. Anyway, about the guitar. Right out of the box, it played great, requiring only a minimal amount of action adjustment. I was surprised at how good the pickups sounded, it being a Bullet and all. But the humbucker sounds especially nice when playing the guitar through my Marshall. The neck pickup has a decent sound, but not quite up to the snuff of a good alnico pickup. Still, for what the guitar cost, I really can't complain. If I want to, at some later date, I can always change out the neck pickup to a better alnico model. One thing I especially like about this black Bullet is its looks. The photos here at GC don't show it off all that well, but the guitar body's finish is metallic and the pickguard is a heavy metal flake. It looks spectacular under the lights. And the black hardware does a great job of completing that black look. The Bullet's body is thinner than a typical Strat or Squier Affinity or Classic Vibe body. The result is a light weight guitar, but there is no sacrifice in tone.Michael

I would first like to begin with- I normally would be giving a 5 star rating of this unit/Squier, as I have typically never had problems prior to the recent/earlier this year upset regarding shipping containers/etc being paused/sitting in the ocean/etc, delaying container delivery. PLEASE READ ON FOR FULL EXPLANATION. Two imperative points- 1. The fret ends were so sharp, when I say it was not playable (both sides/neck in its entirety), I mean, it was not playable (THE DATE OF INSPECTION WAS EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND I IMMEDIATELY ASSOCIATED THE FRET ENDS PROBLEM BEING DUE TO THE SHIPS BEING DELAYED/SITTING IN THE OCEAN/ETC- It looked to me like maybe between March and July of this year, although, I couldn't quite make out the stamped month). As well, the serial # of the guitar, of course, was of this year/'22. I maintain/work on most all my guitars, and I normally would've tightened up the fret ends myself, however, there was a hairline crack on the red sparkle finish at the bass side neck joint (which i just couldn't accept, visually), as well as a small tooling gash along the top edge of the headstock. The replacement/reordered guitar arrives tomorrow. 2. THE NEWER UNITS (AS, ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS A 2022-BUILT UNIT) ARE TOP-MOUNT/STRING THROUGH THE BACK OF THE BRIDGE, NOT "STRING-THRU" as the description indicates (and, with Squier bridge mounting, these are 5-screw mount plates, which, if ever you want to upgrade your hardware, particularly, w/the bridge, you must find an aftermarket unit that is "string through the back", along w/the correct string spacing (with Squier, they're 54mm, typically), and you'll typically need to redrill given it's rare to find plates that have Squier mounting dimensions that provided string through the back holes. I'm upgrading to a Babicz, given the results found. Also, there are two string trees (the second being a tree for both the D and G strings), and it looks great, actually, with both. Overall, I was impressed with the finish, as it was nearly flawless (aside from the hairline finish crack mentioned previously). The fretwire/fretwork, felt great….I found maybe two or so "slight" dead spots, which weren't enough of a "ping", or string buzz to be of concern, or critiquing the fretwork negatively. Rather, I was impressed with the fretwork. As well, it's important to note that the mounting of the bridge, along with the neck positioning/etc, was spot-on. No misalignment of the bridge mount/etc (and the same goes for the nut spacing). I've always been impressed with what Fender/Squier/Jackson are putting out. The quality is typically quite high…as for this unit, the quality is high, but the results of the environmental dilemma with either being stuck in a container offshore, or, sitting in a facility for weeks/months/etc, have had quite the impact on this guitar. As an important example, I had purchased a Bullet Tele last year (the unit in Burst color offered here through MF), and it was/is flawless, and I completely upgraded every part. As I own approx'ly 53 guitars ranging primarily from ESP to Jackson (some of which in the better than $2K range), I love to take what's titled as a "beginner" guitar, and totally hotrod it with high end parts (such is the case w/this guitar). As mentioned above, I've reordered the guitar, as MusiciansFriend provided me a generous discount (without having to ask) to accommodate me. Upgrades- 1. Babicz Full Contact Tele "Ashtray" bridge Gold, 2. Genuine Fender Gold control plate, 3. Fender Infinity Gold strap locks, 4. Gold input jack Ferrule, 5. Custom built Gold Sparkle w/star cut-outs Tele pickguard, 6. Philadelphia Luthier Tools "Fat" neck plate/Gold w/gold neck mounting screws, 7. Earvana compensated nut (Ivory), 8. Philadelphia Luthier Tools Gold string trees, 9. Fender locking tuners, Gold, 10. EMG T-52 set (black), or, EMG T-set, Red., 11. EMG Gold Telecaster knobs. 12. Powder coated Red pickguard screws, 13. Gold pickup mounting screws. Beginner guitar?……no more (ha).Dave

Ultimately, this guitar is terrific! It seems to be one of the few Squiers that has better than not appointments (considering the fact that they are generally "bare bones" in terms of body woods, etc …) If you're new & want a good single coil strat sound…..yep…….if you know what you're doing already & want a strat you can woop on……yep…..if you want a nice sounding guitar that would normally cost a few $$ more for equal quality?? ……..still yep…… Automatically, add a couple sets of strings to your cart too (I snagged a couple DR Blues 10-46 sets, although the stock Fenders don't sound bad at all honestly) & stretch em on! The only tuning issues I experienced was due to needing to stretch em out a few times to stay tuned (***….tug the string from bridge to nut, back n forth like you were playing a chello with a bow hahaha ….., while also continuing to tune them back up repeatedly). From there, you should be dialed & throughly enjoy this killer, cost efficient strat just about as much as you'd appreciate one that cost a grand!!! Cheers!!T Dogg

This is an incredible guitar ! I bought it as a modding platform, but after having spent a few hours with it, I quickly decided it what mostly stay untouched. These are economic tuners, but man do they stay in tune. After polishing and dressing the frets, graphite-ing the nut, and replacing the strings, I had to tune twice in a 2 week period ! The original plan was to replace them with vintage style tuners, but why waste the money, they're great ! I bought the shell pink, and the color, fit and finish are perfect. It weighs 7.5 lbs, so on the lighter side, which I love. The neck has a better looking wood grain than my Vintage Modified '70s, and about the same feel, at least I don't feel a difference. I don't know if it's because of the top load hard tail bridge or what, but this guitar is VERY resonant, and sustains forever. The pick ups are definitely not top of the line, as the price implies, but they sound really good. My original plan was to replace them with Kent Armstrongs, but I really liked the neck PU a lot, and while I don't have strong opinions either way about the middle and bridge, I thought I would try replacing the electronics first. I installed a Gunstreet Wiring Shop Blender harness (blends neck and bridge PUs), and now I get all the tones I could possibly want. I'm definitely keeping the stock PUs ! Like I said, with a little fine tuning of the set up, it plays and sounds like a dream, looks fantastic, and is priced incredibly well. I couldn't recommend it more.Playin for fun

This is my first electric guitar. It is well made and arrived in great condition. The Scan set up is a real plus and ensured it was ready to play straight out of the box. Everything you need to start your guitar journey is in the package. The included amp is small and simple to use. More than adequate for practice and home use. The Fender Play Instruction is well worth looking into. Overall an excellent package worthy of serious consideration.Heathpk

My bass looks to be excellent quality for the price point. The neck and frets are perfectly smooth with no sharp edges. Straight out the box all it needed was a quick tune. I love the sound. I'm only a beginner so I can only compare this bass to my Ibanez which is also great. This is a perfect bass for a beginner that wants that P bass sound and for great value.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

After umming and arring about Squier guitars I figured for the price I couldn't go too wrong. I've owned many epiphones in the past and figured the Fender subsidiary should be of similar standard. I was not let down! For the price I paid, the instrument is absolutely magnificent. It looks, feels and plays like a telecaster should and is well setup out of the box. The only downside? Try putting it down after you get playing. Impossible!Anthony L.

It's a great beginner guitar but it cannot play drop D tuning. When I finished tuning and went back to play the first string that I had tuned it had already gotten noticeably far out of tune. Great for the price I guess but if your serious about playing maybe invest in a guitar of better quality.Ben

I bought my black metallic Squier Bullet eight years ago when GC was having a Columbus Day sale. I was looking for a guitar to which I could permanently mount my Roland GR-33 guitar synth's GK2a pickup. Previously I had the pickup mounted on my '96 Strat, and I didn't like this fit because I couldn't close my Strat's case with the pickup installed. I have a gig bag for this Squier, and it fits fine in the bag with pickup installed. Anyway, about the guitar. Right out of the box, it played great, requiring only a minimal amount of action adjustment. I was surprised at how good the pickups sounded, it being a Bullet and all. But the humbucker sounds especially nice when playing the guitar through my Marshall. The neck pickup has a decent sound, but not quite up to the snuff of a good alnico pickup. Still, for what the guitar cost, I really can't complain. If I want to, at some later date, I can always change out the neck pickup to a better alnico model. One thing I especially like about this black Bullet is its looks. The photos here at GC don't show it off all that well, but the guitar body's finish is metallic and the pickguard is a heavy metal flake. It looks spectacular under the lights. And the black hardware does a great job of completing that black look. The Bullet's body is thinner than a typical Strat or Squier Affinity or Classic Vibe body. The result is a light weight guitar, but there is no sacrifice in tone.Michael

Purchased the Squier Affinity Telecaster from local GC store. They had this and a bullet in stock. I chose the Affinity due to the overall feel and fret ends we're more smooth. For a sub 250ish price guitar you cannot expect it to play like a 1000+ price guitar and I totally get that. Now I did expect it to at least stay in tune. One thing to add however is I am uncertain how long this particular guitar had been in stock. Now after a few hours of playing I noticed I could not get this guitar to intonate. No matter what I did the low e and a string always sounded sharp. I ended up replacing the stock tuners with locking tuners, cleaned the fretboard, gently filed and lubricated the nut, and replaced the strings with Ernie ball 9's. Now she is in tune, intonation was a breeze and she stays in tune. Sounds like a whole new guitar.Steven

I bought this guitar on sale for about $590, which, let's be clear, is an absolute steal. It's a gorgeous instrument, the electronics are great for the price point, and the craftsmanship is superb except for one small thing… the nut was on backwards. I ordered the instrument online and drove about an hour for curbside pickup where I did my best to check for any obvious damage or crafting issues, but the sale tag was tied around the B & E string so I didn't notice the nut issue until I got home and heard a pronounced buzz on the B string. I took it to a local guitar shop and had the nut replaced with a hand-slotted bone nut for about $40, rather than dealing with a return or exchange at the nearest Guitar Center. In truth, I had been planning to replace the nut with a bone nut anyway so I didn't really care that much. Aside from this pretty glaring error, though, the guitar is just a delight. There was no fret sprout, no sharp frets, and no fret buzz, like I've heard some people mention. The neck was perfectly straight and smooth, electronics were sturdy-feeling and sounded awesome (I expected more hum and a thinner sound from stock pickups). The saddles were also incredibly easy to adjust for intonation and the instrument is just generally comfortable to hold/play. Also, this guitar looks absolutely incredible in Surf Pearl. Moral of the story, if you find this guitar on sale for less than $700, the value is pretty hard to beat. Just make sure you give it a thorough look-see before taking it home or that you're prepared to spend ~$50 extra for some additional work. If not for this manufacturing error, this would be a 5-star instrument.Carson C.

I've had this beauty for some weeks now. It's been played through a Fender HRD with Private Jack for speaker, a Marshall DSL40 and Vox AC15. Sounds beautiful in all these mediums, including Tube Screamers, Chorus, and Fuzz pedals. I see no need to change the PUs or Tuners. I only changed the strings to Elixer 9s. Neck feels great. Had one fret that was buzzing slightly, but a minor truss adjustment and minor fret filing solved that little issue. NOT FOR NUTHIN, but guitarists should learn how to perform some mechanical adjustments – it feels good fixing some problems on your own. Although I'll steer clear of electrical issues. Anyway, the guitar is beautiful. I've got the blue. It's almost a work of art. If I needed another Tele I would buy this one again. I bought it while it was on sale, but I would have bought it at regular price anyway. If you're on the fence, hop off and pick up one of these. They're worth the investment. No need to spend Fender Pro money.Hans-Dieter

This guitar is built extremely well, and is a great platform for modifications. The body has a tummy cut that makes it really comfortable compared to other telecasters. The tuning stability is great, and never seems to go out of tune. When I received the guitar, the action was set too low and the neck was back bowed. After adjusting the truss rod to .010" of relief and raising the action to 4/64" the guitar played like a dream. The one downfall for this guitar is the stock pickups; I ended up swapping mine out with an f spaced Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck. I love this guitar and will never part with it.JP

I bought my black metallic Squier Bullet eight years ago when GC was having a Columbus Day sale. I was looking for a guitar to which I could permanently mount my Roland GR-33 guitar synth's GK2a pickup. Previously I had the pickup mounted on my '96 Strat, and I didn't like this fit because I couldn't close my Strat's case with the pickup installed. I have a gig bag for this Squier, and it fits fine in the bag with pickup installed. Anyway, about the guitar. Right out of the box, it played great, requiring only a minimal amount of action adjustment. I was surprised at how good the pickups sounded, it being a Bullet and all. But the humbucker sounds especially nice when playing the guitar through my Marshall. The neck pickup has a decent sound, but not quite up to the snuff of a good alnico pickup. Still, for what the guitar cost, I really can't complain. If I want to, at some later date, I can always change out the neck pickup to a better alnico model. One thing I especially like about this black Bullet is its looks. The photos here at GC don't show it off all that well, but the guitar body's finish is metallic and the pickguard is a heavy metal flake. It looks spectacular under the lights. And the black hardware does a great job of completing that black look. The Bullet's body is thinner than a typical Strat or Squier Affinity or Classic Vibe body. The result is a light weight guitar, but there is no sacrifice in tone.Michael

Purchased the Squier Affinity Telecaster from local GC store. They had this and a bullet in stock. I chose the Affinity due to the overall feel and fret ends we're more smooth. For a sub 250ish price guitar you cannot expect it to play like a 1000+ price guitar and I totally get that. Now I did expect it to at least stay in tune. One thing to add however is I am uncertain how long this particular guitar had been in stock. Now after a few hours of playing I noticed I could not get this guitar to intonate. No matter what I did the low e and a string always sounded sharp. I ended up replacing the stock tuners with locking tuners, cleaned the fretboard, gently filed and lubricated the nut, and replaced the strings with Ernie ball 9's. Now she is in tune, intonation was a breeze and she stays in tune. Sounds like a whole new guitar.Steven

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Mustang as my previous experiences with short scale basses had not been good. But everything about this has been fine. The bridge pickup does sound a little buzzy with the tone fully up, but I really don't care! This is a surprisingly fun instrument.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I feel that this bass is excellent value for money. I was surprised by the high quality of the workmanship and materials. Of course it needs a setup to one's preference but that is really only a matter of a tweak of the truss rod, lowering the action and setting intonation. All of this is detailed carefully in the owners manual to assist the diy player or take it to a local luthier for a basice setup. Lots of variation in tones and really fun to play, I'm really happy with it.Tom

I know that I will start an argument with this comment but I'm gonna say it anyway. Why lug around a full size bass guitar when the short scale bass sounds just as good and weighs a lot less. I tried a full size bass and to tell the truth I would have never been able to play a set with it. It was just too heavy for me. Maybe twenty years ago I may have been able to take the weight but not now. I am a guitar player mostly and the full size bass was too much. This bass is the perfect weight, the perfect look and quality, and sounds like a full size bass. It just does. I see a time where the 34 inch scale will wither away and be replaced with the shorter scale bass. It's inevitable. The full size bass has nothing to offer over the shorter scales than maybe cosmetic options. And that will change as time goes on a people realize the advantages of the shorter scale. As a disclaimer I will say that is my opinion. I am sure that full time bass players may have their own reasons for the full size bass.Danny

I just got a grey aerodyne SSH strat. I've never gelled with a fender before. After playing my first gig with this thing I'm so impressed. The neck is amazing. Looks are a amazing. The weight is perfect. That top contouring is so comfortable. The controls… I thought I would want to swap the metal knobs out for traditional plastic knobs because they were smooth, however I had no issues making adjustments to the volume and tone mid song… and they look amazing. The knobs are staying. The pickups. wow. just wow. The traditional strat sounds are here, but they offer more to my ears. More aggression when I needed it. The neck and middle pickups worked perfectly with that bridge humbucker. Switching to the bridge for leads was so satisfying. The sound guy came over after we finished and complimented my tone. He asked me what pedals I was using, and was surprised when I told him I just used delay and reverb. Everything else was the amp and adjusting the controls. These pickups… even when I roll off the tone they somehow still retain clarity. The right kind of clarity. I've played other strats, even American strats (but never custom shop), and these aerodyne pickups are in a league of their own. Bottom line… I've never bought a guitar and wanted to immediately go out and buy another if the same guitar "just in case" something happens to the first one. This guitar is THAT good.Sam

Everything they said about this guitar in the reviews is correct. Quality product and great pick ups. Like the colour, sound and feel.Will M.

I do have two complaints about this guitar. Everything from the bridge and the neck seems crunched together I think they needed to add more room, but maybe this is how they get some of the great tones from the guitar. The second is that the volume nob is in the way I hit it all the time or I have to play really close to the neck. I can fit it this issue of my turning the nob by putting foam under it so it does not turn so easy. But the nib will still be in the way. Other then these 2 things I love this guitar. I was worried about the Flyod Rose Special but it has been fine so far not going out of tune or anything. But I will upgrade later just my preference. The neck is flat and plays really fast. The frets are great and mine was done really will no sharpness ends at all. The electronics seem really good no issues so far. All in all a great filling, great sounding and fun to play guitar.BOBO

If you blindfolded me and handed me this guitar, I would have guessed that I was playing one of my six Ibanez RG model shred guitars. And that's a big compliment coming from a long-time player and fan of Ibanez axes. I got it in Ice Blue and it's absolutely beautiful. The HM Strat actually feels a little bit lighter than my RGs. The neck is smooth, thin, flat, and plays very fast. The frets are smooth and you don't feel them at all when you slide your hand up and down the neck. The FR Special trem feels a lot like the better trem systems from Ibanez, and the strings stay in tune. The bridge humbucker sounds very good and doesn't get too muddy on high gain amp settings, although I'll probably swap it out for a DiMarzio Evo2 or Tone Zone in the future. Likewise I'll also swap out the single coil pups for rails/minihumbucker style pups since I have no use for single coil pups when playing metal. The build quality of this axe is fantastic and I have no complaints. Overall this is an awesome guitar for shredding, and if you upgrade the pickups like I mentioned you'll have a "true" heavy metal guitar. I haven't been able to put it down since I bought it a month ago and my Ibanez RGs are actually starting to gather a little dust lol. This HM Strat is so awesome that now I'm thinking of getting the pink one.Speedster

This guitar feels and plays great! I own the original version of this guitar from the 80s. It has a special feel to it, very addicting and effortless to play. When this came out I pre-ordered immediately due to nostalgic love for my original and had to have it. BUT I was prepared to send it back if it didn't live up to my expectations from the original. I knew i was keeping it within 5 minutes of playing it. The fret board is the most dark and rich and smooth rosewood fret board I have ever seen. Very nice surprise, almost mistakable for ebony. The unfinished satin neck is as smooth and quick in the hand as butter. The stock pickups are surprisingly good actually. I was prepared to swap them out with bareknuckle pickups if i wasn't satisfied with the tone plugged in (i'm talking about high gain tube amp tones here specifically). The bridge humbucker actually sounds fantastic through my Mesa Dual Rectifier, so good I see no reason to replace it with my preferred bareknuckle pickup. The two single coils produce excellent clean tones, but are a little week for high gain leads. The problem with this guitar is the floyd rose special. It's a shame they didn't include an original floyd rose. I will be swapping the floyd rose special with an original right away. It feels cheap, and you can tell by the unplugged tone that the tone is lacking a bit due to the floyd rose specials zinc tone block. Though this could be upgraded more economically by upgrading the floyd rose special's tone block with a readily available brass block, string saddles, and the tremolo arm. So if you are willing to upgrade the tremolo, the guitar gets a 5 star rating from me, but with the stock tremolo, 4 stars. Oh and I never write reviews, this guitar is something special.Jake

I picked up the Surf Green Ltd Ed. Bullet Mustang a few days ago off the rack. They had two. One had rusty strings and sharp frets but the one I picked was almost perfect. These Mustangs are great for smaller learners and older guitarists that may enjoy the lighter string tension due to the short scale. I love the sound of both humbuckers. The bridge one gives you a nice grungy Nirvana like tone while the neck is smoother but both love to be driven. I picked up the Imperial Blue Mustang HH a few weeks ago. They both use the same humbuckers, The only difference I believe is the wood type, Basswood vs Poplar. Both guitars are quite light with the Basswood Surf Green one being somewhat lighter.These Mustangs are ideal for modding but for now I've only changed the cheap pickguard on this Surf Green one, putting a Tortoise Shell on it. So far I'm loving both of them and my Fender P90 Mustang is getting quite lonely.Tingman

First of all, this is a ton of value for the price. I got it on sale which made it even a bigger steal. Now, this guitar needs a lot of setup out of the box. You should polish the frets since they are as coarse as beach sand. Otherwise, string bends will be impossible and will most likely damage the cheap supplied strings (which should be changed immediately as with most new guitars). Expect some fret buzz, so be ready to adjust the saddles and the truss rod (I like my action quite low so this was a minor tweak for me). The intonation was actually quite close to perfect, it only needed a bit of tweaking on the A string. The nut and string trees are the ones you typically get on Squiers, which are good enough but won't do wonders for your tuning and should be replaced unless you are patient enough to tune your guitar every so often. Be sure to change these first before changing the tuners/bridge if you have tuning problems, I haven't changed the tuners or bridge on mine and don't plan to – they just work. Finally, the pickups are surprisingly good for the price, not too mellow and you can get some nice tones from the bridge pickup. You might soon outgrow them, though, and might opt for better humbuckers or P90s. For all these reasons, this guitar is not the best as a first guitar or for beginners unless it gets a proper setup first or if you're really planning to learn how to setup or change electronics/other parts in a guitar. However, those are the same reasons (plus the low price and simple design) that make this a really fun modding platform, and if you don't feel like modding it, with the right amount of work it's still amazing. It's light as a feather and the neck is very fast; you can probably muscle through hours of playing with barely any effort at all. The stock tones are reasonable enough, and in my opinion it looks awesome. You can't get a better deal for the money once you're aware of the above.Carlos, M

I like this guitar because of the 24" scale length. Everything else was pretty bad out of the box. The strings were a 1/4" off the fretboard. The fretboard was super dry. There was fret sprout. The frets felt like sandpaper on bends. The E strings are too close to the edge of the fretboard. When you play you're constantly hitting the pickup selector switch. The finish on the neck is supposed to be satin but it looks unfinished to me and there are light and dark areas on the neck which look bad. It is the worst finish on a neck I've ever seen on a guitar and I'm going to have to put some kind of finish on it. Trying to load strings is tricky and not as easy as on most other guitars you have to bend the end of the strings to get them to load. So that is the bad. The good? The tuners are your typical Chinese tuners that come on all cheap guitars these days, and they are fine. The pickups sound good. The 24" scale is great and really fun to play bends on!Steve

I picked up the Surf Green Ltd Ed. Bullet Mustang a few days ago off the rack. They had two. One had rusty strings and sharp frets but the one I picked was almost perfect. These Mustangs are great for smaller learners and older guitarists that may enjoy the lighter string tension due to the short scale. I love the sound of both humbuckers. The bridge one gives you a nice grungy Nirvana like tone while the neck is smoother but both love to be driven. I picked up the Imperial Blue Mustang HH a few weeks ago. They both use the same humbuckers, The only difference I believe is the wood type, Basswood vs Poplar. Both guitars are quite light with the Basswood Surf Green one being somewhat lighter.These Mustangs are ideal for modding but for now I've only changed the cheap pickguard on this Surf Green one, putting a Tortoise Shell on it. So far I'm loving both of them and my Fender P90 Mustang is getting quite lonely.Tingman

First of all, this is a ton of value for the price. I got it on sale which made it even a bigger steal. Now, this guitar needs a lot of setup out of the box. You should polish the frets since they are as coarse as beach sand. Otherwise, string bends will be impossible and will most likely damage the cheap supplied strings (which should be changed immediately as with most new guitars). Expect some fret buzz, so be ready to adjust the saddles and the truss rod (I like my action quite low so this was a minor tweak for me). The intonation was actually quite close to perfect, it only needed a bit of tweaking on the A string. The nut and string trees are the ones you typically get on Squiers, which are good enough but won't do wonders for your tuning and should be replaced unless you are patient enough to tune your guitar every so often. Be sure to change these first before changing the tuners/bridge if you have tuning problems, I haven't changed the tuners or bridge on mine and don't plan to – they just work. Finally, the pickups are surprisingly good for the price, not too mellow and you can get some nice tones from the bridge pickup. You might soon outgrow them, though, and might opt for better humbuckers or P90s. For all these reasons, this guitar is not the best as a first guitar or for beginners unless it gets a proper setup first or if you're really planning to learn how to setup or change electronics/other parts in a guitar. However, those are the same reasons (plus the low price and simple design) that make this a really fun modding platform, and if you don't feel like modding it, with the right amount of work it's still amazing. It's light as a feather and the neck is very fast; you can probably muscle through hours of playing with barely any effort at all. The stock tones are reasonable enough, and in my opinion it looks awesome. You can't get a better deal for the money once you're aware of the above.Carlos, M

I like this guitar because of the 24" scale length. Everything else was pretty bad out of the box. The strings were a 1/4" off the fretboard. The fretboard was super dry. There was fret sprout. The frets felt like sandpaper on bends. The E strings are too close to the edge of the fretboard. When you play you're constantly hitting the pickup selector switch. The finish on the neck is supposed to be satin but it looks unfinished to me and there are light and dark areas on the neck which look bad. It is the worst finish on a neck I've ever seen on a guitar and I'm going to have to put some kind of finish on it. Trying to load strings is tricky and not as easy as on most other guitars you have to bend the end of the strings to get them to load. So that is the bad. The good? The tuners are your typical Chinese tuners that come on all cheap guitars these days, and they are fine. The pickups sound good. The 24" scale is great and really fun to play bends on!Steve

I previously purchased a Classic Series 60's Strat and had looked hard at the 50's since then. Musician's Friend had 15% off for Fender recently, so pulled the trigger on one. I had only one time before (not MF) bought online/sight unseen, but this one arrived in perfect condition, set up well (low action, intonation set, trem floated) and ready to play. The soft V neck profile is very nice, the pickups sound even better than the Classic Series 60's (even though they are supposed to be the same pickups). Fit/finish/appearance is spot on. My first Strat was a 1983 Vintage series '57 RI. This MIM Strat looks nicer, plays better and sounds better than that MIA I bought back in 1983. The Classic Series (both my 60's and this 50's) are GREAT guitars and real bargains. Do not shy away from them just because they are not MIA's. Let me repeat…..GREAT guitar!!64 Tele

The Mexican made Strats can actually be a mighty fine guitar! I've bought a few guitars on Ebay and out of three, one was like brand new. One was ok, it needed some new strings and some twirling, and the third wasn't any good at all and makeover on. It now plays like an American Strat and is just a wonderful guitar. I got to learn a lot from that one and I think I'm gonna start getting into re-working cheaper ones and making them real nice guitars for guys or girls wanting something better while being on a budget. When buying a guitar on Ebay, make sure you can get your money back if it's no good. Ask questions! Don't overspend just be patient, the right one will come along. Study up about buying guitars on Youtube… Good Luckow2launch

I have been trying to find the ideal Fender on a non-Custom Shop budget. I tried a Highway One and it wouldn't intonate. Then I got a Chris Shiflett Tele, which is a great guitar except that it weighs about the same as a wheelbarrow full of bricks. Sent that one back. MF was good about that. Finally I looked at my wife's '59 Jazzmaster, which I love playing, and realized: Wait a minute, the neck radius on the J-Master is 7.25, not 9.5 or 12, and I get along with that neck, so…I ordered the 50s Classic. This is a good guitar regardless of where it is made. I put a 9-42 set on it instead of the 10-46 it comes with and the action became perfect. The Daphne Blue is so 1950s, and well it should be, it's a Cadillac color (Leo loved using auto paint for his guitars). Thankfully not anywhere near as heavy as other Fenders I have tried. The sound is classically Stratlike. Pickups are low output, as the originals were. So far I can't stop playing it. This is pretty much the Strat I have been looking for all along.werewolf

Comfortable guitar with a well rounded amount of options for most players. Maple neck felt smooth, very bright & crisp tones and it was thin enough for some speed when needing to move about the fretboard. Finish on the neck is light enough varnish to let you feel a bit of the wood grain. Sound from the pickups is old school classic strat twangy tone fitting for blues, country, classic rock, jazz, or folk players depending on which of the 5-way pickup selections you are in. One complaint is that the stock pickups have a noisy 60hz buzz when in single pickup positions. In combined 2-pickup positions most of the buzz is pulled out. Most people modify these pickups or control cavity because of the noise issues. Neck pickup, middle and neck/middle positions sound best for most players needs. The bridge pickup lacks any of the stronger mellow tones a humbucker might give you so certain players obviously will not like this for their style of music. Tuners were solid performers staying in tune for a long time and have an old school look. Tremolo is not very useful especially if you are a Floyd Rose type player. The body is very comfortable to hold while sitting or standing. Finish is sharp polished thick coating. Choose the Candy Apple red. Overall a great guitar in it's price range. If you wanted to modify it or customize there are a hundreds of options available to you. Have made a few mods myself.Humbuckers Rock

I've generally had a strat in the house since shortly after I started playing in 1977 or so, as an 18 year old. It's my "home" instrument – I can vacation with and enjoy other guitars, but I always come home to a strat. But I'm not and never have been a tremolo guy – I've always either decked or blocked the trems in my Strats. So the idea of a hardtail always appealed to me. This is my first actual hardtail and it's my favorite strat, probably not because of that, but it doesn't hurt! This is the best sounding strat I've ever owned – the pickups are great and whatever else contributes to the tone gets it right too. The feel is almost as good as the sound. I've had some really sublime feeling strats over the years – I wouldn't say this is better than all of those, but it's right up there. I tend to prefer maple fretboards to rosewood, but this rosewood plays great and the neck shape fits me really well. Bottom line – I'm a lifetime strait guy and I've owned a few and played a lot of them, and this is my favorite strat I've ever picked up. It's largely a matter of personal preference, but this one is a perfect fit for me. And the Inca Silver looks just wonderful too, particularly with a rosewood board and mint pick guard.Ray

Fantastic instrument. I compared it with Squier Classic Vibe 50s and – for me at least – there was no question which one to get. Yes, the Mexican tele is over 200 quid more – but it's well worth it. The bridge with individual saddles is much more comfortable than the standard 3-saddle one. Neck is not as heavily lacquered as on the CV. Pickups sound great, switch and knobs feels more solid. I did find a couple of blemishes in the finish, but realistically speaking – for a guitar that is mass-produced at that price point – that's sort of expected. I also preferred the colour of the Standard Tele, as CV had really intense forced yellow hue everywhere. I mean – everywhere, even the maple fretboard was stained yellow. There is a bit of fret buzz, but I believe it could go away with proper setup and maybe a bit of crowning?… All in all – great guitar. I was hesitant at first, but now it's my personal favourite and go-to instrument.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I bought this guitar on sale for about $590, which, let's be clear, is an absolute steal. It's a gorgeous instrument, the electronics are great for the price point, and the craftsmanship is superb except for one small thing… the nut was on backwards. I ordered the instrument online and drove about an hour for curbside pickup where I did my best to check for any obvious damage or crafting issues, but the sale tag was tied around the B & E string so I didn't notice the nut issue until I got home and heard a pronounced buzz on the B string. I took it to a local guitar shop and had the nut replaced with a hand-slotted bone nut for about $40, rather than dealing with a return or exchange at the nearest Guitar Center. In truth, I had been planning to replace the nut with a bone nut anyway so I didn't really care that much. Aside from this pretty glaring error, though, the guitar is just a delight. There was no fret sprout, no sharp frets, and no fret buzz, like I've heard some people mention. The neck was perfectly straight and smooth, electronics were sturdy-feeling and sounded awesome (I expected more hum and a thinner sound from stock pickups). The saddles were also incredibly easy to adjust for intonation and the instrument is just generally comfortable to hold/play. Also, this guitar looks absolutely incredible in Surf Pearl. Moral of the story, if you find this guitar on sale for less than $700, the value is pretty hard to beat. Just make sure you give it a thorough look-see before taking it home or that you're prepared to spend ~$50 extra for some additional work. If not for this manufacturing error, this would be a 5-star instrument.Carson C.

I've had this beauty for some weeks now. It's been played through a Fender HRD with Private Jack for speaker, a Marshall DSL40 and Vox AC15. Sounds beautiful in all these mediums, including Tube Screamers, Chorus, and Fuzz pedals. I see no need to change the PUs or Tuners. I only changed the strings to Elixer 9s. Neck feels great. Had one fret that was buzzing slightly, but a minor truss adjustment and minor fret filing solved that little issue. NOT FOR NUTHIN, but guitarists should learn how to perform some mechanical adjustments – it feels good fixing some problems on your own. Although I'll steer clear of electrical issues. Anyway, the guitar is beautiful. I've got the blue. It's almost a work of art. If I needed another Tele I would buy this one again. I bought it while it was on sale, but I would have bought it at regular price anyway. If you're on the fence, hop off and pick up one of these. They're worth the investment. No need to spend Fender Pro money.Hans-Dieter

This guitar is built extremely well, and is a great platform for modifications. The body has a tummy cut that makes it really comfortable compared to other telecasters. The tuning stability is great, and never seems to go out of tune. When I received the guitar, the action was set too low and the neck was back bowed. After adjusting the truss rod to .010" of relief and raising the action to 4/64" the guitar played like a dream. The one downfall for this guitar is the stock pickups; I ended up swapping mine out with an f spaced Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck. I love this guitar and will never part with it.JP

I have wanted an American made Strat for the longest. Not just any American Strat, but The One built to my specs from the looks right down to the pots and of course the feel and sustain. This is it and AMS made it easy and in reach just as they've helped me to make other musical dreams to come true! This guitar feels great, sounds amazing, beyond my hopes & expectations, and even the price tag was a pleasant surprise! Tech has come a long way, but in a lot of ways we've lost craftsmanship. Well, not out of Corona California. Crisp tones, nuanced variation, and that wonderful Fender sustain! I have some other expensive guitars, which I love, but at under their price point the Professional II is going to be a close lifetime friend. If you are looking at these and don't need boutique trimming of the Ultra line or the royal treatment of the Custom Shop, look no further and pay no more. Strat-Halla is right here at a reasonable price point for a heritage worthy instrument. I won't waste time going over the specs. It's all here. Get acquainted with your new best friend!Pete

This is my second American Stratocaster. My first is from 2007 and it has a rosewood fretboard. I wanted a maple neck strat as well. I bought the Miami blue version and love it. To me, Strats are each very unique in the way they play and sound. My other Strat has Dimarzio Area pickups in it (which I love), so I’m having to get used to the stock single coils. I love the bridge, but to my ears the neck pickup it too muddy. The trem system is good, and the overall construction is good. I had to re set it up because I use heavier strings. I may end up changing pickups before it’s all said and done. Only time will tell. I wish Fender would have put Locking tuners on from factory! That’s a must for me.Justin

I purchased this guitar about 3 weeks ago (working with Zach), it has quickly become my favorite guitar I own. The full rosewood neck is incredibly smooth and the the deep C shape is extremely comfortable. I mostly play through a Helix Stomp and have been really happy with the sound and tone variability I can get with it using the various pickup selections especially with the push/push for adding the top pickup to the mix for positions 1 and 2. The pictures in the listing look great, but it looks much better in person. The pictures have a lot of light which makes the blue appear lighter than it would in a normal room. The picture where the guitar is positioned in the case is a great representation of the color in a normally lit room.Kevin

I bought my black metallic Squier Bullet eight years ago when GC was having a Columbus Day sale. I was looking for a guitar to which I could permanently mount my Roland GR-33 guitar synth's GK2a pickup. Previously I had the pickup mounted on my '96 Strat, and I didn't like this fit because I couldn't close my Strat's case with the pickup installed. I have a gig bag for this Squier, and it fits fine in the bag with pickup installed. Anyway, about the guitar. Right out of the box, it played great, requiring only a minimal amount of action adjustment. I was surprised at how good the pickups sounded, it being a Bullet and all. But the humbucker sounds especially nice when playing the guitar through my Marshall. The neck pickup has a decent sound, but not quite up to the snuff of a good alnico pickup. Still, for what the guitar cost, I really can't complain. If I want to, at some later date, I can always change out the neck pickup to a better alnico model. One thing I especially like about this black Bullet is its looks. The photos here at GC don't show it off all that well, but the guitar body's finish is metallic and the pickguard is a heavy metal flake. It looks spectacular under the lights. And the black hardware does a great job of completing that black look. The Bullet's body is thinner than a typical Strat or Squier Affinity or Classic Vibe body. The result is a light weight guitar, but there is no sacrifice in tone.Michael

Purchased the Squier Affinity Telecaster from local GC store. They had this and a bullet in stock. I chose the Affinity due to the overall feel and fret ends we're more smooth. For a sub 250ish price guitar you cannot expect it to play like a 1000+ price guitar and I totally get that. Now I did expect it to at least stay in tune. One thing to add however is I am uncertain how long this particular guitar had been in stock. Now after a few hours of playing I noticed I could not get this guitar to intonate. No matter what I did the low e and a string always sounded sharp. I ended up replacing the stock tuners with locking tuners, cleaned the fretboard, gently filed and lubricated the nut, and replaced the strings with Ernie ball 9's. Now she is in tune, intonation was a breeze and she stays in tune. Sounds like a whole new guitar.Steven